The truth about living conditions in North Korea:
1. "Back in 1994, a famine struck North Korea so bad that it lasted four years. Most of the crops were destroyed so people got desperate and turned to cannibalism. The death toll within those four years was 3.5 million people (that’s 10% of the country’s population).
The little food the country had was confiscated by the military to feed the highest officials in the land."
2. "This is pretty much common knowledge, but just to reiterate, if you are from North Korea, you won’t be leaving… ever.
There are watchtowers and soldiers everywhere, and if you’re caught trying to escape, you’ll spend years in a concentration camp. If the Chinese catch you, one of two things will happen: if you are a man, you’ll be sent home, but if you are a woman, you’ll be sold."
3. "If you’re ever granted the opportunity to visit North Korea, your visa will have to be approved by the Party and you’ll be asked to sign some forms promising you don’t have any suspicious technology with you."
4. "Since 1957, there has been a three-caste system in North Korea, the “hostiles,” the “wavering,” and the “core,” all based on family history.
The core consists of those most loyal to the government; the wavering class is the working class or “the neutral class” and the hostiles are those with a family history of rebellion. Rebellion is characterized by things like land ownership and converting to Christianity. The hostiles are denied education and are not allowed to live near Pyongyang, the capital city."
5. "In North Korea, 24 million people are living below the poverty line." The population of the entire country is only 25 million though.
6. "Even in the richest city of North Korea, Pyongyang, three million of the upper-class citizens aren’t given electricity, and those who are given it only have it for an hour a day.
At night, North Korea looks as if it’s been wiped off the map. From the sky, it goes completely black.
It’s common in the winter for electricity to be totally gone. This can be life-threatening since temperatures drop as low as -12 degrees Fahrenheit."
7. "Though free trade is illegal in North Korea, a black market has emerged. “Grasshopper merchants”, who are predominately women, sell on dirt roads between the cities of Haeju and Sariwon, trading and profiting off of their goods.
There are now 500 families working this market even though what they’re doing could land them in jail or worse. Their locations are secret, so it’s rare that they’re spotted by foreigners."
8. Travel is not permitted without hard to obtain permits. If you’re of the “wavering” or “hostile” class, this is hard to obtain. Without the permit you are not allowed to drive a car.
9. The most prohibited thing to photograph in North Korea is its poverty. North Korea wants to look like a strong, wealthy nation with happy citizens, so any images that speak to the depravity that exists within are likely to get you jailed if discovered. The second most forbidden thing to photograph is North Korean soldiers.
10. There is one hotel that tourists are allowed to stay in while visiting North Korea. It’s called the Yanggakdo International Hotel and it exists in the capital city of Pyongyang.
“It’s conveniently isolated on an island so you cannot leave and free roam the city. Tourists are placed in rooms facing the best parts of Pyongyang existing to the right of this frame,” wrote Eliott of Earth Nutshell.
All of the rooms are rumored to be bugged.